Blue Blood – Chapter Four I own no rights to Firefly, and claim none, writing only for my own pleasure:) ------------------ Sheriff Grippen leaned back in his office chair, pleased with himself. He stood to make a goodly haul off notifying the ‘Sun Bonding Recovery’ people of the whereabouts of River Tam. The fact that it would stick a needle square in Malcolm Reynolds eye, along with that merc of his, was just icing. And there was no way it could be traced back to him, either. No one would ever know he’d dropped the line on the girl, and the hefty reward would set him up nicely. “A call for you on two, Sheriff,” his secretary called. “It’s that Sun Bond company.” “Thank you, Evelyn,” Grippen said amiably. Speaking of the devil, he decided, opening the screen to the caller. “Grippen,” the blue clad caller said shortly. “I wanted to verify your information, especially the timeline given us.” “Ship left about forty hours ago,” Grippen replied, looking at his watch. “Normal run to Astra from Argo is anywhere from sixty-eight to seventy-four hours. That bunch normally hits the middle at right around seventy-two hours.” “You are certain that the subject is aboard?” the caller inquired. “I am,” Grippen nodded. “She’s the pilot, in fact.” “Excellent.” “About my money,” Grippen started. “Your reward will be forthcoming, once the subject is apprehended,” the blue suit replied calmly. “Remember that the reward is for information leading to the capture of the fugitive, not for information simply on whereabouts.” “So if you don’t get her, I don’t get my money?” Grippen didn’t quite snarl. This was an unexpected development. “Not at all,” the caller said soothingly. “Should we fail, the information will still have placed us in a position to apprehend her, and will therefore be paid.” “Well, all right then,” Grippen nodded, leaning back again. “Don’t go gettin’ no funny ideas about double crossing me, friend. You won’t like the outcome.” The man in the blue suit smiled. “I assure you, sheriff, we are not one’s to ‘double cross’ people who help us.” “That’s fine, then,” Grippen said, mollified. “We’ll see you soon,” the blue man promised, and broke the connection. ---------------- “He will need to be dealt with,” the agent informed his comrades when the connection was broken. “A trivial matter,” his partner assured him. “One team can return with the subjects, while the other ties up loose ends here.” “Have you informed higher of your activities?” the leader of the second team inquired. “I have not,” the larger replied. “Though the source is likely reliable, it is an unconfirmed report. There is no way to ensure that the subject is in this area without tipping our hand. That is why the decision was made to await them here.” “They should arrive within roughly thirty-six hours,” his partner added. “We’re prepared.” ----------------- “How we doin’ ‘Nara?” Mal asked, walking onto the bridge. “Fine, Mal,” Inara assured him. “Engine temperature was rising, but Kaylee took care of it.” “Serious?” “Nope, just a little off on the coolant mix,” Kaylee replied from behind him. The little engineer was in her coveralls, a slight grease smudge on her face. “Good work, mei mei,” Mal smiled slightly. “We all got our talents, Cap’n,” Kaylee smiled. “Speakin’ o’ which, what are you gonna tell Jayne about the Sheriff? You know he ain’t likely to let this lie. Not this time.” “I ain’t gonna worry over that until we know that River’s safe,” Mal told her. “One problem at the time, Kaylee. One problem at the time.” “I’m just saying, Cap’n. Jayne’s like to go all. . .you know, when he finds out. And there ain’t really but one way he see’s o’ dealin’ with such like.” “I know,” Mal sighed, shuddering at the idea of Jayne on a rampage. “We’ll do what we can, Kaylee. But right now, I’m of a mind to let him have that Sheriff, and be done with it. We was safe here, until he made that wave. Now?” Mal left the question hanging. “Now we maybe ain’t,” Kaylee said sadly. No one added anything to that. Their home, their plans for the future, all in jeopardy because of one greedy, corrupt lawman. Shoulda let Jayne kill him, Mal thought, looking forward out of the bridge window. ------------------- “Hey, kid?” “Yeah, Goldie?” Jayne and Goldie were making their way across the ship’s hull, heading for the antenna array. The going was slow, but steady. “River ever get. . .odd, on you?” Goldie asked. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jayne almost snarled. So far as he knew, Goldie knew nothing about River’s. . .issues. “You know, all womany, and what not,” Goldie replied, and Jayne relaxed. This was about Zoe again. “Sure,” he told the older man. “Why?” “Well, I. . .I just wondered, I guess.” Goldie hesitated, then went on. “I’m still just trying to work out what happened with Zoe, kid. That’s all.” “I get’cha,” said Jayne. “But I ain’t got no answers for ya on that score. Every woman’s different, I reckon.” “I ‘spect,” Goldie nodded, though Jayne couldn’t see it inside the helmet. “I ain’t never been married, or the like, you know? Never found a woman I cared to spend that much time with, truth be told. Or stayed in one place long enough to try, if I’m honest about it.” “Me neither,” Jayne admitted. “‘Fore River, it was just whores, and one night stands for me. ‘Fraid to get too attached to anybody, especially after. . .” “Yeah,” Goldie saved him from having to finish. “Same with me, mostly. All my folks is gone, so it’s pretty much just me, these days. Never bothered me before, though.” Jayne smiled at that, thinking about how River had wormed her way into his own heart. “Well, it’s amazing the impact a good woman can have on a man, my experience,” Jayne told him. “I’d love to have had the chance to find that out,” Goldie said wistfully, and Jayne snorted. “What the hell happened to you, Goldie?” he demanded suddenly. “Man I knew wouldn’t have tucked tail and run. She mean’s that much to ya, you got to keep at it.” “Normally, I’d agree, kid,” Goldie said after a minute. “But that ‘I’m the Captain and you’re my crew’ was pretty definite sounding. You know? I don’t think I can get past that, way it sounded.” “Maybe she was just trying to set some rules down, you think of that?” Jayne asked. “Just to make sure that whatever might happen ‘tween you two didn’t get in the way of work and all.” Goldie’s silence told Jayne that he’d hit on something. “No, I didn’t think on that,” Goldie admitted after a minute. “You might have something there, kid,” he added. “Just think on it s’all I’m saying,” Jayne told him, pleased with himself. “I will,” Goldie promised. “Okay, here’s the array,” he said a second later, turning all business. “Don’t look damaged,” Jayne noted. “No,” Goldie agreed after a few seconds. “Mean’s it’s most likely a. . .aha! Look what we have here!” Jayne leaned forward, and saw a loose connector in Goldie’s hand. “Musta come loose leaving atmo,” Jayne mused, and Goldie nodded. “Yep.” He reached into his bulky pocket and came up with a new connector, and a pair of pliers. “Won’t take but a few minutes, and we should be good.” Jayne hit his comm unit. “Zoe, I think we got it. Give us a minute, and we’ll call you for a test run.” “Good,” was the terse reply, and Jayne sighed. It was the work of only a few minutes. “Got it!” Goldie said triumphantly. “Give it a go, Zoe, and see if that’s got it.” He waited while the Captain worked on the screen. “We’re up!” Zoe called, and the two men exchanged a high five. “We’re good to go, kid!” Goldie exclaimed, then fell forward, face first against the hull. “Goldie?” Jayne reached for his friend, just as something small and powerful struck the hull in front of him. “Meteor shower! Man down!” Goldie’s suit now had a small hole the size of a child’s marble in the back. Jayne reached into his own pocket and removed a roll of ‘space tape’. He quickly used the strong adhesive to cover the hole, stopping the escape of air. “Talk to me, Goldie,” Jayne urged, taking hold of his friend. There was no answer. Hefting Goldie onto his shoulder, Jayne started the torturous route back to the airlock. --------------------- River felt Jayne’s alarm before he spoke. When his warning came over the comm, River immediately rolled the ship, placing the hull between Jayne and the meteor shower. “Zoe, Jayne and Goldie are in trouble!” she called over the com. “I’m on it!” Zoe yelled, on her way to the infirmary to collect their first aid kit. They’d move whoever was hurt, probably Goldie, can’t think about that now, to the infirmary, but having emergency equipment on hand at the airlock might make the difference. Zoe is coming, ai ren, River thought to Jayne, seeking to calm him. Ain’t me, he assured her at once, straining under Goldie’s weight and the effort to pull both along the hull as quick as possible. Goldie’s down. Took a pebble in the back. Be safe, she sent to him, and felt his reassurance pushed back at her. She wanted to run to the airlock, but knew she was needed where she was. As Jayne made his way across the hull, River kept rolling the ship to keep it between the meteors and the two men outside. Jayne finally reached the airlock, and almost threw Goldie inside, trying to hurry as much as he could. As soon as the outer door was sealed, Zoe over-rode the safeties, and opened the inner door. Jayne had hefted Goldie up again, by then, and walked out into the bay, laying him gently on the floor. “He took a pebble in the back!” he yelled at Zoe through his helmet, struggling to get it off. Zoe nodded, and turned to Goldie. Sure enough, there was a small hole in the back of his suit. Please don’t be dead, Zoe pleaded silently, working swiftly to get the suit off the injured man. River, having engaged the auto-pilot, came running down the stairs. She crossed the floor to Jayne, intending to help him get his suit off. “Help Zoe!” he ordered instead, and she nodded, falling to the floor beside Goldie. “We gotta get this suit off, River, and fast!” Zoe told her. “Cut it off!” Jayne ordered, now out of his own suit nearly. River immediately reached under her dress and pulled one of the handmade knives Jayne had given her from its garter sheath. With Zoe watching wide-eyed, River inserted the blade into the small hole, and the blade began slicing thorough the suit as if it were paper. “That’s some knife,” Zoe commented, and River nodded. “Jayne gave it to me,” she said quietly, never looking up. Some gifts meant more than others. “Lotta blood,” Jayne remarked as the suit was peeled away. There was a small, burned hole in Goldie’s shirt. As they rolled him gently over, the exit wound was likewise a small burned spot in his front. “Okay, the rock’s out,” Zoe announced. “Let’s get him to the infirmary. River, how far out are we?” “Still thirty-two hours, seventeen minutes, twelve seconds at normal burn,” the little pilot informed her, watching Jayne lift Goldie off the floor. “Go to full burn, right now!” Zoe ordered. “We’re closer to Astra than we are to home. We’ve got to get him to a doctor as soon as possible.” “On it!” River left for the bridge at a run. Zoe followed Jayne to the infirmary, worry evident on her face. At least give me the chance to tell him what I really meant, she prayed silently.